Beneath the Million Stars
by Sol Chakram
Summary: When Kikyou has passed on, Inu-Yasha finds some comfort in a spot he'd least expect it. (One-shot)(Complete)


**Disclaimer:** Do I look, sound, or even appear to be Rumiko Takahashi? No. Then no, I don't own "Inu-Yasha".

**Author's Note:** This is just a one-shot. I kinda thought it up in class when I was supposed to be paying attention to the formula in geometry class. Weird, I need to stop talking about stars in science class. Anyways! This is really off-topic talking about how and where I got this idea, but I can't respond to reviews unless you leave me with an e-mail, then I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can. Anyways, let's move on.

I'm running a contest to see who can guess what Sango says in her sleep at the end. If you can guess it, you get a prize. You have to be the first one to guess it though and I'll "announce" it. You can either leave me your e-mail or your AIM sn. If you get an IM from either TokubetsunaMiko or PriestessKesshou that would be moi. Now, onto the story!

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'I can't believe she's gone,' he thought to himself quietly as he looked out over the lake silently. 'All this time, I'd been fighting to be with her...and she's gone.' Shimmering on the lake was the gentle reflection of the stars. The moon was gone from the sky as he was in his human form, weak and helpless. 'I could have saved her, I know I could have,' he bitterly reminded himself as the scenes of her death replayed over in his mind.

He sighed and looked up at the sky to see the light dusting of stars. What had Kagome called that? Oh yeah, that's right. She called it "The Milky Way", whatever that is.

"Inu-Yasha?" a voice he didn't quite expect spoke from behind him. Looking away from the millions of stars above him, he turned to see her standing there silently. She silently crossed the wet grass and sat beside him. "I just noticed you were gone and came out here looking for you," she quietly spoke as she looked away.

"Well, you found me," he replied bitterly as he looked away in the opposite direction.

The silence that ensued was awkward for both sides, but she decided to speak first and break the uneasiness that transpired between the two. "We never get to talk," she started. "Alone, I mean," she continued as she picked a flower and twirled the stem in her lap. "Miroku, and Kagome are always around so I guess this is just one of those moments."

"Yeah," he quietly replied.

"What did Kagome call those stars again?" Sango asked as she turned her brown eyes up to the shining stars.

"The Milky Way," Inu-Yasha replied after he quickly recalled the name.

"Strange name," she murmured. "That's Mother's star," Sango spoke up after scanning the night sky and pointing to a star that twinkled down upon them.

"What?" Inu-Yasha asked looking up at the star confused. 'Figures he wouldn't get it,' Sango thought to herself as she lowered her hand back to the flower in her hand and began to twirl it as she spoke, still watching the star carefully.

"After Mother died, my father explained something to me. He said that when everyone dies and they move onto the afterlife, they have their own little windows. Those windows are the stars. So, no matter where I am, Mother is always watching me," Sango thought about what she said as Inu-Yasha had no reply and watched the star that twinkled at them warmly. "Kind of childish of me, I suppose," she nearly whispered as she looked down at the flower.

"I wouldn't say that," Inu-Yasha replied.

"Then what would you say?"

"Just a kid trying to find some warmth and comfort in a world where everything has become so cold," he replied. "I don't see anything wrong in it." Sango looked up at him and studied him as his violet eyes remained unmoving from the stars.

"She's watching you, you know," she spoke quietly as Inu-Yasha looked at the taijiya with a confused glance. "Just look closely," Sango answered in the simplest way she could as she looked at him carefully. His expression changed to that of one with disbelief. "Look," she softly commanded him as he sighed.

'Might as well humor her,' he thought as Inu-Yasha turned his head and looked back out at the millions of stars. His eyes searched the sky silently as he didn't know what exactly he was looking for. "Is there something I'm looking for?" he spoke up finally after searching.

"Just look," Sango replied softly as she continued to watch him, ignoring the sky. Inu-Yasha gave his usually frustrated glare as he searched the sky more. "You'll know." Almost as soon as the words left Sango's mouth, a star caught Inu-Yasha's eye and he looked. The twinkle was just starting as it slowly seemed to be coming to life. The illusion was as though a star was born before his very eyes. His hardened expression changed to that of a softer one. "You found it," Sango whispered quietly as she saw Inu-Yasha's expression change. "You'll never lose it either, you'll always find it."

The silence returned as Inu-Yasha looked over the lake to hear the crickets chirping quietly. Sango stopped looking at him and returned her gaze to the flower as she twirled it idly in her hand still. "Thanks," he murmured.

"Excuse me?" Sango asked, a little unsure of what she heard.

"Thanks."

"For what?"

He didn't reply to it and it left Sango wondering. 'What does he mean? I didn't do anything...did I?' Inu-Yasha's gaze remained on the lake as he sat in his silence, his thoughts racing. 'What the hell am I supposed to do? Kagome doesn't give me a moment's peace, Miroku is trying to wheedle it out of me in hopes it will do better and nobody will just leave me be!'

"I should go," Sango finally broke the silence setting the flower down beside her and pushing herself back onto her feet.

"You can stay," Inu-Yasha replied still not taking his gaze from watching the horizon. "I could use the company."

"Are you—"

"Don't even ask," Inu-Yasha quickly interrupted as Sango stood still for a second before sitting back down. She looked out over the lake as she sat quietly. She understood what it meant to have someone just sit quietly. 'It's like having their support without needing to listen to it,' she reasoned in her mind. So many times had everyone talked to her about Kohaku, it really just made things worse for her.

Every time she heard the "Sango-chan, are you ok?" or "Sango, I know you are worried about Kohaku, but..." speeches, it just broke her heart more. She knew they were concerned, but she didn't need to listen to it, did she? Sango just didn't seem to think so as her heart would sink every time that sensitive subject was brought up in an attempt to "comfort" her. "Thanks," she finally spoke aloud.

"For what?"

"For not talking," she explained.

"So you do understand?"

"More than you know."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked as he looked at the girl beside him.

"You know what it means," she replied as she looked at him. "Inu-Yasha, I know what you are going through. I can't offer more than to _not_ talk about it. It hurts more to hear about Kohaku and about how much we are going to win him back than to actually not bring it up at all."

"I guess you are right," he replied quietly.

"You know she's watching you, right?"

"Yeah, yeah," Inu-Yasha replied, trying to brush it off with the tough guy act already kicking back into gear.

"She'll never forget you, Inu-Yasha. Almost in the same way she couldn't stop loving you," Sango spoke quietly as she watched and studied the flickering of emotions that would pass through his violet eyes. "Her soul was made of hate and her body was nothing but a lie, a sham. But it didn't stop her from loving you. There was still some small part of Kikyou left within, even if it had been just a fragment, it was still there. You knew it. You knew when everyone doubted you. Kikyou was still inside, still deep within and you just wanted to set her free. But now, she is at rest. You will see her again one day, who knows, but she always loves you, Inu-Yasha, and she always will. You just have to remember to keep fighting for that," Sango concluded. She didn't have a clue where she pulled all these things.

'Probably just from somewhere I forgot existed,' she mused silently. Sango witnessed something she never thought she would ever see in her entire life. Escaping from the deep, dark pools, a single tear sparkled and rolled gently down his cheek before meeting a small demise in the grass. There was no other tear shed, just that one, lonely tear that fell. It didn't fall from his eyes or his body like Shippou when he would become injured, but it fell from his broken heart and soul.

In all the hardships that Inu-Yasha had faced from fighting for his life and barely making it to nearly losing Kagome, nothing had ever made Inu-Yasha shed a single tear, not until this one moment between Sango and Inu-Yasha. Sango silently and almost instantly vowed to not discuss this meeting with the others at any time after seeing what she just witnessed as Inu-Yasha's eyes remained open, with the bars gone and with nothing holding back. Sango wondered if Inu-Yasha even realized that he just shed a tear.

"Inu-Yasha?" she whispered softly as she wrapped an arm around his side. Almost upon her touch, he pulled close to her, wrapped his own arm around her side, and rested his head on her shoulder. Sango seemed almost taken aback by his actions, but she rested her head on his head. They seemed frozen like that, but not in a stiff, cold manner. The aura coming from them was a gentle, warm aura with the comfort and warmth coming from both broken hearts.

A shiver went down her spine, but not from the cold. It was actually from the gentle touch from behind her back. A gentle stroke went through her hair and trailed its way to the bottom and back up to its original spot. Any tension in her body immediately disappeared as the light touches of his fingers running through her soft dark hair comforted her into almost a daze. "Thanks for understanding," he murmured silently as he shut his eyes slowly.

No other words were spoken and Sango didn't even know if he ever did really fall asleep, but something about the way he held her in his "rest" made her fell well enough to let sleep overcome her. 'I feel safe...I feel...' she thought to herself as her mind began to let go of the real world and the dream world she yearned to live in began to pull her back. 'I feel...understood...I feel...' She didn't finish her thought as a light blush crossed her face. She murmured something subconsciously just before sleep took her and she left the world.

"You are," he whispered back. "Sango, you are...more than you know..."


End file.
